Defense Positions: Taken
by Weird-Is-An-Understatement
Summary: Kaii Marnya and Maya Sirrus are best friends living in the Jedi Temple, and they are certain that nothing will ever change that. But when Kaii's parents are kidnapped, the Padawan's friendship is put to the test.Bear with us thru the prologes, please.
1. Prologue 1

**Defense Positions: Taken**

**by**** Weird-Is-An-Understatement**

**(WhiteTree and duckvader23 would work too)**

**Prologue**

**Kashyyyyk**

The reports that circulated the HoloNet called it the worst shuttle crash ever recorded in Wookiee history. No one survived - not the pilot, the three-hundred passengers, Wookiee or otherwise, and not the lowly mechanic couple, traveling back from their home planet, Corellia.

But the reports were not strictly true in that aspect. While it was true that many hundreds, on the shuttle and off, died in the crash, not every passenger was killed.

Tarkazza threw back his head and let out a cry, a long, warbling sound of utter agony and grief. Attichitcuk, an elder of the village, patted Tark's broad shoulder comfortingly. He knew what it was like to lose someone he loved, someone he had sworn to protect. His mate, his lovely wife, had died giving birth to his youngest son, Chewbacca.

But Tarkazza's grief was different - he blamed himself. He remembered, clearly, the day Renn and June Sirrus saved his life. A repolsor lift had collapsed on top of him, and if it hadn't been for the mechanic couple's swift thinking and selflessness, Tark would be fertilizing the wroshyr trees at this moment.

And now they would be. The Wookiee moaned again, remembering the day June had given birth to a girl, a young child who would be barely two months if... He recalled every detail of the birthing process, and how he felt when the little girl was placed into his furry black arms.

Maya... He had sworn to protect her, as he had sworn to protect her parents. A life-debt, it was called. When someone saves the life of a Wookiee, they must protect that someone, and their family, no matter the cost.

But he had failed, failed... Tarkazza staggered forward, overcome with grief. The technicians, Wookiee and human, were attempting to clear the crash site, and keeping the crowd back. But Tark was a good head taller than them, and most likely stronger.

[Tarkazza, I am sorry, but there is no possibility that they could have survived,] murmured one of Tark's friends. The black Wookiee ignored him. If there was any chance... If even one of them had survived...

Nothing. No scent of human life. There was only death here, pungent, repulsive. The Wookiee dropped to his hairy knees, scraping at his face with his long claws.

That's when he heard it. Softly at first, but gradually growing stronger and stronger...

The cry of a small child.

**Naboo...five years later**

The only child of Fae and Jaoin Marnya, Ambassadors to the Queen of Naboo, was..._special_. She was an oddly controlling child, able to make people think what she wanted them to think, see what she wanted them to see. Whenever she sparred with long poles in the Royal Gardens, she always won, regardless if her opponent was five, as she herself was, or fifty.

People began to talk. Everyone had a different theory about the child. But the theory that reached the ears of the Jedi Order on Coruscant, was that Kaii Marnya was strong in the Force.

Mace Windu from the Jedi Temple came to Naboo to see Kaii, on a sunny summer day, when Kaii was in a good mood. In other words - Watch out, Mace!

Kaii's plan was to throw eggs at the unfortunate Jedi Master, and then dump a barrel of blue milk over his head. She thought his Jedi Robes needed a bit more color.

She positioned herself in the upstairs window waiting for the right moment. Just then, her parents pointed the window she was currently looking out of. Kaii grinned, and waved at her parents, giving them the peace sign, then glared at the Jedi. Angrily, she flipped him off. Then her parents motioned for her to come down, with a disapproving face attached.

_ Blast,_ thought Kaii. So much for egging the Jedi! Oh well, she could do it when he was about to leave.

Downstairs, Kaii put on her innocent face, pretending that she _hadn't_ just flipped off an important member of galactic society, a keeper of the peace.

"Hello Kaii," said the Master, his voice deep.

"How did you know my name?" asked Kaii suspiciously. "Are you stalking me?" The Marnya's rolled their eyes. Oh, would their daughter ever cease to embarrass them? Wasn't she supposed to be shy? They wished.

"No. Your parents have told me quite a bit about you," he explained. Kaii's sleek black eyebrows rose a fraction.

"Oh, so now you're gossiping about me? I'm pretty sure that's against Jedi law. I've read a bit about the Order..." She smiled smugly. Yes, she was very well-read on the ways of the Jedi. Actually, she was well read on everything. Her life was so boring that she read all the time - her way of escaping reality.

"So you know about the Force?" quizzed Master Windu. This led to a barage of questions, which Kaii answered perfectly, each one. _Take that, Master Wind-breaker!_ she thought every time he nodded approvingly at an answer.

**HEEEELLLLOOOOO People of Earth! Thank you for reading our story. I hope you liked it! Please review! This is the first part of our prologue; second coming soon!**

**~Weird**

**"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands-and the just eat one of the pieces," Judith Viorst**


	2. Prologue 2

**Kashyyyk**

The ship docked in Rwookorroro the next day. Tarkazza and the Elders of the village met with Master Windu and the other Jedi representatives, their furry faces grave. Mace felt their great pain through the Force, especially emanating from the tall black Wookiee.

"Greetings, Tarkazza," said the Jedi, solemnly. He knew how much this pained the Wookiees-especially Tark. Young Maya was like a daughter to him-he had raised her. But she was so strong in the Force-already she could move things with her mind, and had a strange talent in healing injured Wookiees and other traders on Kashyyyk.

The Wookiee grunted in response, and Mace felt a twinge of remorse that he had never learned Shriiwook. He felt it was his duty as a Jedi Master to not make a fool of himself, so he nodded intelligently, to make it look like he understood.

"Where is Maya?" he asked, hoping he had not missed anything in his ignorance. The Wookiees exchanged looks, and Tarkazza's dark blue eyes misted over. He warbled out a choked sound, and pointed toward a small cluster of thatch-roofed buildings, where Mace assumed Maya Sirrus was.

Nodding toward his fellow Jedi to keep the negotiations going in his absence, the Master jogged toward the buildings.

"Maya?" he called softly through the rooms of the small hut Tarkazza had indicated. There was no response, but Mace felt the troubled presence of a young, Force-sensitive one nearby.

"Maya, I know you are there," he said calmly. Still no response. Mace frowned slightly. He had a feeling the girl wasn't going to reveal herself anytime soon.

Back on the shuttle, Mace drew Kaii Marnya aside. She was the newest youngling taken under the Jedi's care. He thought that maybe Kaii would be able to draw Maya out of her shadow.

Mace had explained his plan to Tarkazza and the Elders. They grunted something, but again Mace didn't understand. He decided to go through with his plan anyway.

"She's over in those huts," Mace explained, gesturing toward Maya's hiding place. Kaii nodded and headed in the direction she was told.

When she got to the correct hut she saw a miserable little girl hiding in the corner in fetal position murmuring to herself. "Please don't make me leave... Please..." Looking up, she saw Kaii and her dark blue eyes widened.

"Go away," she snarled, her voice going from helpless and pleading to angry and hostile. "Leave, or I'll make you!"

Aha, a challenge! Grinning, she started forward. With a growl, the girl lunged. Her long, red hair was matted and damp, flying behind her like some sort of demonic Sith Lord's cape. Kaii paused, frowning slightly. Had living with Wookiees made Maya primitive? Kaii had been raised in prim and proper royal courts-she was unaccustomed to the wild and rough Kashyyyk.

"You think you could take me, huh?" she asked with a grin. Maya frowned slightly, then glanced over at the simple cot in the middle of the room. Slowlyit began to rise up in the air before crashing down on top of Kaii. Reflexively, she rolled out of the way just in time, hopping up on to the cot and launching herself at Maya. But her opponent dodged out of the way, causing Kaii to crash into a wall.

She ducked as the cot smashed into the wall where her head had been moments before. The cot began to topple down on her again, and she dove out of the way, right into Maya. Soon both of them were rolling on the floor, punching every bit of each other they could reach.

As if a silent signal had sounded, both girls stopped fighting at the same time. Maya was sporting a bloody nose and several cuts, while Kaii had a swollen lip and a blooming black eye.

"Truce?" panted Maya.

"Truce," Kaii agreed.

**Coruscant...5 years later**

Force History. Noon, standard time. Normally, the Padawans of the Jedi Temple would be sitting in the cafeteria, eating lunch. But today, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi kept the ten-year-olds back, as the lesson was not over.

"Is there a point to this?" Kaii Marnya whispered to her best friend, Maya Sirrus. Maya's dark blue eyes glazed over as she pondered this.

"No...got nothing," she muttered, glancing up at the Jedi Master, still talking in his slow, droning voice. Both girls sighed depressedly. Oh, when would this boring period be over?

Maya pulled a stylus out of her bag and began doodling droid blueprints on the back of her note sheet. Kaii inconspicuously pulled out her new 4g iHolo, and slid the buds into her ears. The first strains of the latest Bon Jawa song blasted through the silence of the classroom. Fortunately, Master Mundi didn't seem to notice, but the other Padawans did.

"Uh-oh," muttered Maya, as Kaii began swaying side to side, humming softly. "Kaii, don't-"

Too late. Kaii had hopped up onto her desk, and was dancing wildly. Maya figured it was some sort of cultural dance Kaii had picked up on diplomatic missions with her parents.

Even Ki-Adi-Mundi couldn't fail to notice a dancing, singing Padawan. He looked disapprovingly up from his datapad.

"Miss Marnya, _please_..."

But the volume on Kaii's iHolo was turned up too high, and she didn't hear him. Hopping from desk to desk, singing at the top of her lungs, Kaii kept at it.

"Kaii!" hissed Maya, glancing nervously up at Master Mundi, who was turning red. "Kaii, I'd

stop-"

Kaii gave one last twirling skip, and landed with a crash on the Jedi Master's desk. Papers went flying, a datapad hit a kid in the front row, and Kaii's iHolo smashed on the floor.

"NO! MY IHOLO!" screeched Kaii. Ki-Adi-Mundi pulled himself up to his full height (which, due to his cone-shaped head, was considerable) and glared fiercely at Kaii, his bushy white eyebrows nearly covering his cold blue eyes.

"Detention, Marnya," he said chilly. "Now, return to your seat before I make it two."

The rest of the class was held in silence. Uneventful. _Nearly_.

Maya Sirrus had really had too much. First, this class was eating away her lunch period. Second, it was boring as Tatooine dunes. Thirdly, this _Gammorean_ of a teacher had just given _her_ best friend detention. Jerk.

"Miss Sirrus, you are not paying attention!" shouted Master Mundi, suddenly. Maya's temper-about as short as a jawa child-flared.

"Good call, _Master_," she sneered, "As a matter of fact, I am _not_ paying attention to your stupid lecture, and neither is anyone sitting in this class! Everyone hates your blasted subject!"

Nobody moved. Everyone simply stared at Maya Sirrus, who was breathing heavily. Finally, Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke, his voice shaking with rage.

"You insolent little... How dare you question my methods? I would have expected more respect from a Tuskan! Of course, I should not be surprised; one who was raised by _Wookiees_ cannot have much breeding quality."

Everyone in the classroom, even those who didn't know Maya particularly well, knew that Master Mundi had crossed a line. Kaii, who knew Maya _very_ well, took shelter under her desk.

"DIE, JEDI, DIE!" screamed Maya, her eyes burning. The chalkboard eraser sitting on the corner of the Jedi's desk suddenly rose into the air, and began beating the Master's bulbous head with all the force it was able.

Detention began. Excited students hurried back to their dorm rooms after a long day of studies, eager to play and talk and read.

All the students except for Kaii Maryna and Maya Sirrus. They entered detention talking about how _stupid_ Master Mundi had been in class that day. Didn't he know not to insult Wookiees, or people raised by Wookiees for that matter, and expect to live?

Heading toward their regular seats (yes, the girls had regular seats in the detention room), Maya and Kaii noticed something disturbing.

"Hey! Some freak is sitting in my seat!" said Maya.

"Um, Captain Obvious," muttered Kaii. She was a little busy at the moment-hadn't Maya noticed?-checking out the "freak" that was in her best friend's seat.

He was tall for his (their) age. His sandy blonde hair was slightly tousled, and his ice blue eyes were narrowed in concentration as he poured over a sheet of homework.

"Hey, New Kid, get out of my seat!" shouted Maya. Kaii, meanwhile, was lost in the clear blue eyes of the beautiful creature before her.

"What's your name?" she whispered dreamily.

"Anakin Skywalker," he responded. _Ah, such a lovely name..._

"That's...that's a nice name," she managed. "I'm Kaii Marnya." She held out her hand. Maya knocked it aside.

"Hey, no fraternizing with the enemy!" she snapped.

"Oh c'mon, he's too hot to be our enemy. Just because he sat in your stupid seat doesn't mean he's the enemy. Seriously, he probably didn't even know it was your seat! If he did, he wouldn't have sat there, because I'm sure he's too nice." What Kaii didn't add was, _and he could tell you would kill him._

Maya stared at her. It was very unlike Kaii to babble on like this, to explain her actions. _Oh no,_ thought Maya, _I think Kaii has just developed a crush._

"Well, that's just great, Kaii, but he's _still sitting in my seat!_"

Anakin finally seemed to catch on. "I'm sorry, am I in your seat?" he asked pleasantly. Maya rolled her eyes. _A smart one, too_.

"No, I'm just making all this fuss 'cause I feel like it!" she spat sarcastically. This kid was seriously grating on her nerves.

The boy grinned, staying right where he was.

"Feel like fighting me for it?"

Maya stared at him for a split second. Was he serious? If he really was new, then there was no way he knew a thing about lightsaber combat. But that was alright with Maya; novices were the only type she could beat in duels.

"You're on!" And before the detention Master could say a thing, Maya and Anakin had both pulled out their training lightsabers. (Padawans were not able to carry their real lightsabers, which they constructed with their personal Masters, around with them)

The fight was short and sweet. Kaii watched with baited breath as her best friend and her newfound crush slammed the pure white blades against each other. She knew that she could whip both their butts easily, but preferred to wait and see who would win.

It was obvious from the beginning that Anakin was no "novice". Maya knew there was no way she would win, but she fought hard nonetheless. Soon though, Anakin had knocked the lightsaber from her hand. Maya collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Wow, you're good!" she wheezed. Kaii bit her lip to keep from grinning.

Anakin smiled. "Hey, you're not bad either. But _I_ get the chair." His smile turned smug, and he went to sit down in it. Kaii glanced over at Maya, waiting.

WHAM! The desk flipped over, all of Anakin's belongings crashing to the floor. WHAM! The chair bucked, sending Anakin flying into the wall. Kaii was impressed (and relieved) to see Anakin lowering himself with the Force. He was staring in amazement at Maya, who was calmly sitting down in _her_ detention seat, piling her homework on the desk-which had turned the right way up.

After a pause, Maya stood, bent down, and picked up Anakin's bag, silently piling all his stuff in it. With a small smile, she handed it to the still-bewildered "new kid".

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm Maya Sirrus." She held out her hand and Anakin, grinning, took it.

"Hey!" shouted Kaii, racing over, "Don't leave me out!"

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, please review, even if it's to tell us how bad that was. **

**The prologue has finally ended—time for the **_**real**_** story to start (and it's much better than this, promise!) **

** ~duckvader23 and WhiteTree**

**"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality of tomorrow." ~Robert Goddard**


End file.
